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Dear BPW, Dear readers,
This spring, we got off to a brilliant start with Equal Pay Day, International Women's Day, and the CSW in New York, as well as the BPW Europe General Assembly and the 11th Young BPW Symposium. In this BPW newsletter, we're taking a calmly joyful look back, as well as a joyfully excited look ahead at all the upcoming new topics and dates.
We hope you enjoy reading all about it!
Looking back
Equal Pay Day
We're still making ourselves heard and will not even think about giving in until we have equal pay for equal work!
This year's Equal Pay Day fell on 17 February, 2024. Women in Switzerland will have to work for free until this date, while men will be paid from 1 January 2024. Equal Pay Day and all our BPW events in the regions draw attention to this wage gap, as well as to the gender pension gap.
Numerous events have been held so far by the BPW Clubs, not just on 17 February, and many more are yet to come. Once again, we were delighted by the diversity and ingenuity of our regional clubs. They have taken to the streets and brought our already famous red bags and information to people, organized panel discussions and information events under the motto "Decisions have consequences", and tackled the topic in an entertaining way as a drag show.
For this year's Equal Pay Day, we have focused on the consequences of life choices, taking advantage of the exciting tool www.cashorcrash.ch, developed by alliance F.
The smart tool for personal life planning demonstrates in facts and figures what consequences decisions can have for wages, careers, and pensions. If you would like to use the tool at an event or for communication purposes, please contact Agnes Schubert or Simon Preisig, alliance F, on +41 31 512 05 50 or by email to office@alliancef.ch.
The Federal Statistical Office has recently published the first results of the 2022 Swiss Wage Structure Survey – click here for the official information page.
International Women's Day
On Friday, 8 March, more than 350 women took up the invitation of the President of the Council of States, Eva Herzog, to visit the Bundeshaus parliament building in Bern to discuss, exchange ideas, and celebrate together on International Women's Day. Featuring numerous well-known and impressive speakers from the spheres of politics, business, and science, the event focused on women's financial independence, as well as on their safety, which is unfortunately also currently threatened by numerous conflicts around the world.
And as always, such an occasion is also an opportunity to network, maintain existing contacts, and make new ones.
On the same day, a breakfast panel was organized by Sheerah Kim, Young Representative BPW Switzerland, in the Kraftwerk co-working space at Impact Hub Zurich. More than 80 participants attended - including BPW members from Basel, Bern, Glarus, Kreuzlingen, Schaffhausen, and Zurich. Collaboration partners: Female Founder Initiative Switzerland and Startup Campus. Speakers: Carmen Somm (BPW Club Kreuzlingen), Katrin J. Yuan (Global Digital Board Academy), Maria-Luisa Fuchs (Startup@HSG), Nadine Jürgensen (elleXX), and Pirmin Meyer (WE/MEN). Click here for the LinkedIn post.
BPW Leaders' Summit International, NY (USA)
68th CSW NEW YORK (USA)
The 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68-2024) took place in New York from 11 to 22 March, 2024.
The main topic was: Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the participation of all women and girls by combating poverty, strengthening institutions, and increasing funding, through the lens of gender.
The next BPW International Congress will take place in St. Kitts and Nevis from 17 to 21 November, 2024, at which BPW Switzerland will be represented by a delegation.
BPW Europe General Assembly and 11th Young BPW Symposium
The BPW Europe General Assembly and the 11th Young BPW Symposium took place from 21 to 24 March, 2024, in Rome (Italy). This year, the Executive Council of BPW Europe organized a special program alongside the official events, with the help of FIDAPA BPW. Participants were thus able to take advantage of numerous visits, lectures, and plenty of space for networking and discussing topics related to strengthening the role of women in Italy.
BPW Switzerland sent two delegates to Rome to represent Switzerland's votes at the General Assembly: Myriam Heidelberger and Sheerah Kim. Among other things, the Excecutive Council of BPW Europe was elected, with Valentina Ceban, representative of BPW Moldova, as well as a member of the BPW Club Zurich, being elected as a new member (Communication Officer 2024-2027). Three Young BPW members from Switzerland participated in the Young BPW Symposium: Isabelle Hostettler from the BPW Club Thun, and Kauanne Wisard, and Vanessa Orlando from the BPW Club Zurich. Click here for the photo gallery.
Collective – stronger together
Collective was founded in 2022 by SICTIC and startup days to coordinate the promotion of more diverse female entrepreneurship. BPW Switzerland has been part of Collective since 2023 and we are pleased to contribute to an innovative, female Swiss startup ecosystem. To this end, our Young BPW Representative Sheerah Kim was involved in two projects within the Collective: the Role Model Task Force and the Governmental Task Force. On 29/05/2024, an event known as the Collective Gathering will be taking place, where BPW Switzerland will be represented by Vanessa Orlando (Young Representative BPW Club Zurich). Click here for more information.
Are you a founder yourself and want to participate in the startup days the next day, on 30/05/2024, in Bern? Then enter the promo code "COL50" to get CHF 50.00 off: https://startupdays.ch/ticket/.
Looking ahead
BPW Assembly of Delegates in Winterthur
This year's BPW Assembly of Delegates will be taking place from 7 to 8 June in Winterthur and will be organized by the amazing women of the BPW Club Winterthur. In addition to the official program, participants will able to explore culture, technology, and science at exciting workshops by and with women. And of course, there is also something on offer for the Youngs. "Talk, Comedy, & Things" with Viktor Giacobbo on Friday, as well as a wonderful gala dinner on Saturday, will ensure a festive mood.
You can find all the information about registration, prices, and the diverse supporting program here. Registration will be open until 30 May, 2024.
Save the date:
1 June, 2024
BPW Schaffhausen 50th anniversary of the club
BPW Club Schaffhausen is celebrating its 50th anniversary and invites all BPWs to join in the celebration. You can find all the information and how to register here.
8 June, 2024
BPW Assembly of Delegates, Winterthur
20 - 22 September, 2024
DACH Conference, Ulm (Germany)
18 October, 2024
BPW Autumn Conference, Locarno
14 November, 2024
National Future Day, Switzerland
17 - 21 November, 2024
BPW International Congress, St. Kitts/Caribbean USA
23 - 25 May, 2025
BPW European Conference and Young Symposium, Malta
13 June, 2025
BPW Assembly of Delegates, Basel
BPW Austria: Reconciling family and career
As is well known, the aim of BPW is to promote women at all hierarchical levels in order to advance the equality of women in the economy.
To further pursue this goal, BPW Austria 2020 launched the Empowerment NOW! Zooms were launched. Here, a wide variety of topics on women's equality are made available to member women and interested parties in online Zooms.
In 2024, the theme of the lecture series is "Balancing family and career".
In eight inspiring lectures, the topic will be examined from all sides and new approaches will also be considered.
Details and how to register can be found on the website https://bpw.at/empowerment-online-2024/
Author: Maria Anna Eisl, MA, BPW Austria
National Future Day: Thursday, 14 November 2024
Rochester-Bern – Guest post:
"How to have successful delicate conversations"
Pointing out bad results to an employee, telling a partner what is bothering you, giving your notice to your supervisor – we all have to have difficult conversations. Sibylle Sommerer, owner of Speak GmbH and lecturer at CAS Leadership & Inclusion, explains how to prepare for delicate conversations and what helps you stay true to yourself.
"While you would definitely prepare well for an important presentation, you tend not to do so for delicate conversations – although it would be just as important," says Sommerer. As with almost everything in life, practice helps here too. Practicing can help you become more confident in delicate conversations.
It is possible to reflect on yourself with training. For example, you can record yourself on video: What is my posture like? What gestures am I making? What is my voice like? etc. "If your words don't match your demeanor, that makes things difficult," says Sommerer. Anyone who pays attention and listens can pick up on such contradictions: Does my voice match what I am saying? Or do I seem more aggressive, quieter, more hesitant, etc., than I would like?
It is also crucial to clarify what you want and what you do not want. You only become aware of a lot of things when you say them out loud. This can help you identify your own feelings better: Where do I stand on this? What is important to me? What emotions am I feeling and how am I behaving?
In addition to looking at yourself, looking at the other person is also important. "See what mode the person you are talking to is in," says Sommerer. Before the conversation, you can prepare for the mode the other person might be in. Everyone reacts differently. The most common reactions are: withdrawal – the person falls silent; labeling – "that's so typical of you"; attacking – belittling the other person; control – interrupting the other person; masking – trivialization and sarcastic comments; and avoidance – not stating the problem out loud and changing the subject. If you imagine in your head how the other person might react, you will be better prepared.
It is therefore worthwhile to take some time to think before having delicate conversations. What attitude should I go into it with? What do I want out of it? How am I feeling? "What is inside is also outside – it is not just your words that count, but also your voice, your posture, and your whole body language," Sommerer sums up the take home message.
More on Rochester-Bern Executive Programs and CAS Leadership & Inclusion.
Author: Amélie Lustenberger, Communication Manager at Rochester-Bern
Will we be seeing you at the BPW Assembly of Delegates on 7 and 8 June in Winterthur?
We hope you have an energetic start to spring!
Best wishes,
The Central Executive Committee and the Central Office of BPW Switzerland
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